Rhum Masters thwart Bombers, earn twice-to-beat edge

MANILA, Philippines -  Mark Cruz took over in the stretch as Tanduay repulsed Jose Rizal University, 73-69, yesterday to wrest the No. 4 seed in the PBA D-League Aspirants’ Cup quarterfinals at the JCSGO Gym in Cubao yesterday.

Cruz fired 12 of the Rhum Masters’ 17-point output in the last quarter as they closed out the elims with three straight victories for a 6-3 card and a twice-to-beat advantage against AMA Online (5-4) in the quarters set tomorrow.

The diminutive Tanduay guard buried a triple to force a tie at 59 then drilled in the big shots to turn back the Bombers, who kept it close throughout, the last at 69-71 on a basket by Abdel Poutouochi with 5.2 seconds to go.

But Cruz calmly sank two charities to secure the victory for the Rhum Masters, who actually led in the early going but fell behind in the face of the Bombers’ strong run in the middle quarters.

Cruz finished with 20 points, seven assists, two rebounds and one steal, Jaymo Eguilos tallied 14 markers, Jerwin Gaco wound up with 12 points, Bong Quinto logged 11 markers and Paul Sanga contributed 10 points.

Jerard Bautista, Joseph Marquez and Teytey Teodoro shot 15 points apiece for JRU, which stayed at sixth at 4-5 and will face No. 3 Cafe France (6-3), which also holds a twice-to-beat edge in the quarters.

“They pushed us to the limit. But we found a way to crawl back, compete and win,” said Tanduay coach Lawrence Chongson.